The Obama administration yesterday unveiled plans to begin issuing new offshore wind energy leases as soon as next year under an accelerated approval process.

The U.S. Interior Department said it will work to identify high-priority areas off the Atlantic coast for offshore wind energy development, as well as revise regulations to simplify the leasing process as part of its new initiative.

"To fully harness the economic and energy benefits of our nation's vast Atlantic wind potential we need to implement a smart permitting process that is efficient, thorough, and unburdened by needless red tape," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a statement.

The department said it will also move "aggressively" to process applications to build offshore transmission lines to bring power from the wind farms onshore.

"Efforts to rationalize the multistep permitting process for offshore wind projects are essential for Eastern states to be able to take advantage of this excellent resource," AWEA chief executive Denise Bode said in a statement.